The flame leaves of the Amur maple

The star of today's postcards is the Tatar maple, its subspecies Amur maple (Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm.). It has narrower and more dissected leaves than the Tatar maple (Acer tataricum L.). The natural habitat of the Amur maple is the Far East, Korea, Japan, eastern Mongolia, and the native distribution of the Tatar maple is eastern and central Europe. Both subspecies are frost-resistant and tolerant to environmental pollution. At the same time, they are decorative, making them ideal plants for use in urban green spaces around the world.

The Tatar maple is most beautiful in autumn. At first, the ripening seed wings are colored in reddish tones against the background of dark green glossy leaves, there are many seeds and they can be seen from a distance. After the seeds ripen, the wings lose red pigments (anthocyanins), become gray, unsightly, but by this time anthocyanins begin to accumulate in the leaves. And the Tatar maple continues to attract the attention of people passing by.

Siko Kagama, a disciple of Matsuo Basho, expressed his admiration for the maple in poetic form. Of course, I cannot say for sure that it was the Amur maple that Siko Kagama praised in his haiku. It could have been either the Downy Japanese Maple (Acer japonicum Thunb.) or the Smooth Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum Thunb.), both of which grow in Japan and both of which have red leaf ornamentation to match our postcard hero. But I don't think it matters. If Siko Kagama lived in North America instead of Japan, he could admire the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum Marschall), whose leaves also turn beautifully red in the fall.

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The beauty of chestnuts (Aesculus sp.)

In the center of Dimitrovgrad, near the Preobrazhensky Orthodox Church, there is a park of Spirituality. The park itself is small, there are benches along the paths, a fountain in the middle, nothing special. The main attraction are the big, tall horse chestnut trees with a powerful spreading crown planted along the perimeter of the park. They are beautiful at any time of the year: in winter - by the imaginative pattern of strong branches, in spring - by the ready to open buds and funny palm-shaped leaves, in summer - by the luxurious flowering of large straight pyramidal inflorescences, in autumn - by their spherical spiny fruits. In October, these fruits ripen and open, spilling out large, shiny brown seeds as if polished by an unknown carpenter. The seeds germinate in the spring and form shoots (see photo). In our latitudes, the horse chestnut blossoms at the end of June. But this year the spring was fast and the horse chestnut gave us its "candles" or "thyrses...

Introduction to channel

Plants are everywhere – in our homes, gardens, yards, parks and forests. The world of plants is amazing and diverse – there are more than 400,000 species that have different life forms, plants are found in all habitats. Plants play a special role in the life of our planet: only plants and certain bacteria (cyanobacteria) are able to convert the energy of the sun into the energy of organic matter. It was cyanobacteria that made oxygen appear in the Earth's atmosphere. Today, it is cyanobacteria and plants together, that keep oxygen levels in the atmosphere suitable for animal life. Photosynthesis is just one of the processes and can be compared to the tip of the iceberg that represents the capabilities of plants. Plants have a very complex organization of internal structure, processes of cell signaling, regulation of metabolism and development, and interaction with other organisms. Many food chains in ecosystems begin with plant organisms; plants not only feed animals, but also hea...

Flower of the sun - Helianthus

The choice of the first object for a post is usually a difficult one, but in this case I had no doubt. It is the "flower of the sun", Helianthus (in Greek "helius" means sun, "anthemon" means flower). The bright, large flowers of the annual sunflower ( Helianthus annus L.) symbolize sunlight, warmth, peace, and well being. Art with images of the sunflower is full of energy, positivity, and optimism. The other members of the Helianthus genus are also full of the same positivity. In total, there are 60 species in the Helianthus genus, but only two species are used in agriculture. What's the other one? You may have guessed, it is Helianthus tuberosus L. It belongs to the same genus as the annual sunflower. It has many common names: topinambur, Jerusalem artichoke, earth apples, earth pears, and even sunroot. Topinambur and the sunflower were introduced to Europe from North America in the early 16 th century, from areas of what is now southern Me...

Exploring Plants with Alfia

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